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A student accused of cheating on her final exam is suing Syracuse University for allegedly denying her a conduct hearing due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York on Friday, claims that the university violated its own policies when it appointed one professor to investigate and adjudicate the cheating allegations instead of a five-member panel of students and employees, a change the university claimed was warranted due to coronavirus-related “emergency procedures.”

The student, who failed the class and was placed on probation, is asking for SU to reverse its sanctions and provide at least $75,000 in damages. 

An SU spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

The Center for Learning and Student Success notified the plaintiff on July 3 that her physics professor had accused her of using the website Chegg during an exam. The professor alleged that the student, who is referred to in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, copied an incorrect answer from the website, representing it as her own. The plaintiff claims that she did not cheat. 

SU then notified the student that a hearing would not be held for the allegations. The university’s policies typically call for a hearing when key facts about a case are in dispute or when the student disagrees with their school or college about the allegations. 

Due to the pandemic, university officials updated SU’s policies to allow the university to modify academic integrity procedures so they can be resolved “as fairly and expeditiously as possible,” the university’s policy shows. SU’s vice chancellor authorized the policy change. 

When the student objected to SU’s decision to resolve her case without a conduct hearing, the university dismissed her objection. 

After interviewing the plaintiff, the professor appointed to the case concluded on Aug. 24 that the student had violated SU’s academic integrity policies, documents show. SU failed the student in the course, placed her on a six-month probationary period and noted the violation on her transcript. 

The plaintiff appealed the sanctions on Sept. 3, but the university upheld the prior decision and sanctions. 

The university “failed to follow its own procedures and hold a hearing to adjudicate the allegations of academic dishonesty” against the plaintiff, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit also alleges that other students in the course were not penalized for similar conduct on their exams. 

The plaintiff, who intends to pursue a career in engineering, will continue to lose opportunities, such as internships that would lead to permanent employment, due to the university’s handling of the case, the lawsuit alleges. 

Published on January 15, 2021 at 9:18 pm

Contact Michael: msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3